[jammin' jamey]

Noticed in today's Herald-Leader that coach Rich Brooks said the Cats had a chance to be a factor in the SEC Championship race.

Can the Wildcats win the East?
Can the Wildcats win the SEC Championship?
How many games will Kentucky win?

Kentucky plays potentially "7" Top 25 teams this season - Louisville, @Arkansas, Florida, LSU, @Georgia, @South Carolina and Tennessee. Much stronger schedule than last season, albeit 8 games to be played at home. Good news, the Cats have probably their best returning offense in 25 years. Will their defense improve?

Let's hear from UK Football chat...irateSho

Also saw where Steve Spurrier took a jab at UK during Media Days yesterday, saying the he really admired what Kentucky did last year, going 8-5 and winning a bowl game. His quote was, "We thought we did something big beating Clemson, then Kentucky beat them also."

[bigman61]

I think they have a good chance

[Coach_Owens87]

I think Kentucky has a shot, a very long shot, but it still feels great to have a slight hope of being a contender in the SEC. UK has some very big home conference games Tenn., Florida, and LSU. In my eyes the only chance we have is to perform at Commonwealth like we did last year (6-1, the only loss came in a very close game against SC.). Instead of one upset we need to pull off to big home upsets to have a chance.

[FBALL]

No

No

6

[StrikeoutKing]

Kentucky had 5 players from offense named to the All-SEC PreSeason team (2 1st Team, 2 2nd Team, 1 3rd Team). They return some key players on defense, and some up and coming young talent as well. ESPN.com has them ranked 73rd, and one magazine I read has them winning only 3 games all year. Guys...this team will win some ball games, and they will go to a bowl game. Woodson is the best QB in the entire SEC, and to me, they have a chance at winning the SEC East (especially with their toughest games at home). Winning the SEC 'Ship? LSU and Auburn will be good, so I'm not sure about winning the SEC. But honestly, IMO, a trip to the SEC Title game is not out of question for UK.

[thecavemaster]

The SEC is an absolute gauntlet...I was looking at the top ten
for recruiting classes: SEVEN teams in the SEC were in there... if UK can win six or seven games for three or four years in a row, string together some real success...we may get in a position to win an SEC title...

[Tubby Hater]

No

No

6

Hey man 6 wins will put us Bowling so hell with our schedule I will take 6 wins and it doesnt matter what bowl we go to, I will be there and be happy along with about 40 thousand other crazy CAT fans

[FBALL]

Hey man 6 wins will put us Bowling so hell with our schedule I will take 6 wins and it doesnt matter what bowl we go to, I will be there and be happy along with about 40 thousand other crazy CAT fans

I'll be there too. I hope I'm wrong but no way they win the East or the SEC.

[More Cowbell]

No

No

6

Hey man 6 wins will put us Bowling so hell with our schedule I will take 6 wins and it doesnt matter what bowl we go to, I will be there and be happy along with about 40 thousand other crazy CAT fans

I agree with FBALL, the defense will not be good enough to win a championship, but I do think we can pick off one of the seven top 25 teams we play in order to get that sixth win. I think it will be South Carolina, which would be very satisfying after the little remark Spurrier made about us at Media Days.

I am with you, though, Tubby Hater, I would be ecstatic with 6 wins and a bowl berth. With the schedule we have, we could have a much better team than last year and still not finish with a winning record, so I will be very pleased with 6-6. Send us to Nashville again so we can whup some ACC butt!!

[Scotty doesn't know]

I agree with FBALL, the defense will not be good enough to win a championship, but I do think we can pick off one of the seven top 25 teams we play in order to get that sixth win. I think it will be South Carolina, which would be very satisfying after the little remark Spurrier made about us at Media Days.

I am with you, though, Tubby Hater, I would be ecstatic with 6 wins and a bowl berth. With the schedule we have, we could have a much better team than last year and still not finish with a winning record, so I will be very pleased with 6-6. Send us to Nashville again so we can whup some ACC butt!!

I agree. If we get 6 we will probably be in the Music city bowl again which i will not complain one bit. It was so much fun watching the game from the stands and seeig our cats make a little bit of history. Lets do it again and make history again, back to back bowl wins!!

[ComfortEagle]

UK will not win the SEC championship.

[FreakNasty]

Rich Brooks better be trying to find a way to help his team win six games, rather than worrying about winning the SEC....

I have them winning 5.... (previews coming starting Monday!, sorry for the plug...):moon:

[Playboy5]

No way. They will be solid, but SEC championship is far fetched IMO!

[rallo316]

UK does have a shot if the defense can get it done and the fact that they get Florida and Tennessee at home will help go big blue.

[jammin' jamey]

one magazine I read has them winning only 3 games all year.

WOW :eek:

I think a season similar to last year is in the works for UK. I agree with Cavemaster, Kentucky needs to string together some success in order to be a true contender. However, with their favorable home schedule and maybe an upset on road, the Cats could be in the fight for the SEC East. The Cats must win on the road at South Carolina to think about winning the SEC East. And it wouldn't hurt to steal that Arkansas game either.

It's going to be real interesting to watch this team against LSU and Florida, if they are on a roll going into those games.

[jammin' jamey]

Despite the strong showing in the individual voting, the Wildcats were picked to finish in fifth place in the six-team Eastern Division, ahead of only Vanderbilt. Defending national champion Florida was the top choice in the East, with LSU the prediction in the West.

http://www.kentucky.com/232/story/134992.html

[Scotty doesn't know]

As someone on this thread stated earlier, they just do not have the defense to carry them to that point. The offense could probably be stack against the best in the nation but our defense lags behind.

[TidesHoss32]

UK wont sneak up on anyone this year. They wont beat Florida or Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia or Louisville. I picked UK at 6-6. They'll go 3-5 in the conference, and 3-1 losing to Louisville out of conference, which will still probably put them in the Music City Bowl. They HAVE to find a way to beat South Carolina though. No win there, then no bowling, but Im gonna give them the benefit of the doubt. There are NO easy games in the SEC...If they can win 3 SEC games, and 6 overall, Rich Brooks should get coach of the year in the conference, and UK fans should be very happy with that year. The SEC is absolutely wicked from the top to the bottom.

[Playboy5]

AGREE TH32! The last place team in both SEC conferences could win the Big East and many other conferences IMO!

[Benchwarmer]

No.

[jammin' jamey]

No.

Care to expand?

[More Cowbell]

UK wont sneak up on anyone this year. They wont beat Florida or Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia or Louisville. I picked UK at 6-6. They'll go 3-5 in the conference, and 3-1 losing to Louisville out of conference, which will still probably put them in the Music City Bowl. They HAVE to find a way to beat South Carolina though. No win there, then no bowling, but Im gonna give them the benefit of the doubt. There are NO easy games in the SEC...If they can win 3 SEC games, and 6 overall, Rich Brooks should get coach of the year in the conference, and UK fans should be very happy with that year. The SEC is absolutely wicked from the top to the bottom.

That is exactly how I have pegged their season this year, although I think they could possibly pick off Tennessee at home on Senior Day. Again, I think that the team will be noticeably improved from last year and still likely finish with a worse record (maybe even a losing record), just due to that murderer's row of a schedule.

Let's just hope for 6-6 and a repeat date in Nashville! :rockon:

[Fenix]

They will be a factor in the race, due to the fact I think they will upset one of the teams in the running for the SEC Championship. The Wildcats have no chance of winning the Championship, but we shouldn't be worried about that. You need to build a program before you talk about winning Championships.

[Scotty doesn't know]

UK wont sneak up on anyone this year. They wont beat Florida or Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Georgia or Louisville. I picked UK at 6-6. They'll go 3-5 in the conference, and 3-1 losing to Louisville out of conference, which will still probably put them in the Music City Bowl. They HAVE to find a way to beat South Carolina though. No win there, then no bowling, but Im gonna give them the benefit of the doubt. There are NO easy games in the SEC...If they can win 3 SEC games, and 6 overall, Rich Brooks should get coach of the year in the conference, and UK fans should be very happy with that year. The SEC is absolutely wicked from the top to the bottom.

That is about picture perfect of how I think. Right on man :Thumbs: I will hope for that Music City Bowl bid but pray for a bigger bowl. However, with the amount of fans that UK will bring I say music city all the way!!! Last years bowl game was so much fun. If they are there again, I will be there screamin'.

[cardinalfan27]

Its gonna be a good season for UK but I don't think they will win the SEC, they may content for a while... but we won't know until the games are played

[HAIL PIKEVILLE!]

As someone on this thread stated earlier, they just do not have the defense to carry them to that point. The offense could probably be stack against the best in the nation but our defense lags behind.

I agree that the D was horrible last year. But, I also saw alot of improvement in the defense during the last 2 games against Tennesee and in the Bowl Game against Clemson(got to see that one in person!). They held the #1 rushing offense in the nation in check all day long. Everyone forgets that there were alot of freshmen and sophmores on the defensive side of the ball last year. Ive said it before and Ill say it again. If UKs defense can hold teams to 21 points or less they could win the SEC. They have the best offense in SCHOOL HISTORY coming back with 2 potential 1st round picks in Woodson and Burton and a first day pick in Tamme.

[Scotty doesn't know]

I agree that the D was horrible last year. But, I also saw alot of improvement in the defense during the last 2 games against Tennesee and in the Bowl Game against Clemson(got to see that one in person!). They held the #1 rushing offense in the nation in check all day long. Everyone forgets that there were alot of freshmen and sophmores on the defensive side of the ball last year. Ive said it before and Ill say it again. If UKs defense can hold teams to 21 points or less they could win the SEC. They have the best offense in SCHOOL HISTORY coming back with 2 potential 1st round picks in Woodson and Burton and a first day pick in Tamme.

Me too and it was awesome! Anyways, I see your point about the last two games of the season and I hope that it indicates how they will play this season. As a whole last years defense lagged but as you said they seemed to get better so hopefully you are right that it is a good sign. I will say that UK will average between 23-30 points a game so your prediction would be great!

[More Cowbell]

They will flat out not win the SEC East, much less the conference championship. I think they have a great team (by UK's standards), but it would still be a major upset if they finished in the upper half of their own division. I think anyone who expects more will be severely disappointed.

Myself, I am hoping for 6-6 and a repeat trip to Nashville. I would be thrilled with the chance to go to back-to-back bowl games!

[Scotty doesn't know]

They will flat out not win the SEC East, much less the conference championship. I think they have a great team (by UK's standards), but it would still be a major upset if they finished in the upper half of their own division. I think anyone who expects more will be severely disappointed.

Myself, I am hoping for 6-6 and a repeat trip to Nashville. I would be thrilled with the chance to go to back-to-back bowl games!

Brooks would be the savior of UK football...I guess people are already considering that.

[jammin' jamey]

[/b]

Brooks would be the savior of UK football...I guess people are already considering that.

Fans were considering firing him this time a year ago - me included.